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How Did Frederick Douglass Impact The Abolitionist Movement

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The abolitionist movement, starting in 1831 and ending at the end of the American Civil War, is an important piece of U.S. history. Frederick Douglass, a well known abolitionist, quickly joined the movement after escaping the clutches of slavery when he was around 20 years old. Frederick Douglass’s experiences and contributions impacted the abolitionist movement by helping it grow in power, by helping it grow in numbers, and by pushing through the challenges he faced along the way. Frederick Douglass was born into slavery, and as a child was sent to Baltimore to work for a family there. He taught himself how to read while he was in Baltimore. He bought a book that was a collection of speeches and debates about natural rights when he was 12. …show more content…

Douglass published his autobiography and soon after traveled to the UK to do speaking tours there and in Ireland. He traveled back to the U.S. after a group of abolitionists bought his freedom. When the civil war started, he worked to make sure that emancipation would be one of the outcomes of the war. He moved to DC after the war but passed away after suffering a heart attack while preparing for a speech at a local church. Frederick Douglass’s impact on the abolitionist movement includes, but is not limited to, the rise in power that they experienced before the American Civil War. According to nps.gov, “...Douglass began to attend abolitionist meetings and speak about his experiences. He soon gained a reputation as an orator, and was paid to speak about slavery by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.” If you gain a reputation for something, and people begin paying you to do it, that means you are doing a good job. When it comes to doing a good job in the abolitionist movement, that means you are causing more people to want to end slavery, which helps the abolitionists gain more …show more content…

Alternatively, Frederick Douglass helped the abolitionist movement grow in numbers. The abolitionist movement before the civil war was quite small, but Frederick Douglass helped it grow in size before and during the civil war. According to nps.gov, “This took him on speaking tours across the North and Midwest.” If you are speaking to large groups of people across the U.S about slavery, then it is a given that some of the people you are speaking to are going to begin to dislike slavery. Most people that disliked slavery would join the abolitionist movement, so it makes sense that some people joined the movement because of Frederick Douglass. nps.gov also wrote, “For almost two years, he gave speeches and sold copies of his narrative in England, Ireland, and Scotland.” He not only spoke across the U.S, but he also spoke in the UK and Ireland, which means he is speaking to even larger groups of people because his tours are now spanning multiple countries. Although Frederick Douglass may have been a successful orator, that doesn’t mean he didn’t face hardships along the

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